Who Told You You Were Naked?

WARNING. Nudity. It is the state of nakedness being revealed!

And why should I be ashamed of my naked body?  I wasn’t born ashamed of my body. I was born naked and quite happy about being naked, until at some point in my toddler years, I learned running around naked was not appropriate. Hence, began my conditioning to be ashamed of my body. And I have been ashamed of revealing my naked body ever since. (But not as much as I used to be. See my brave photo to left.) I become less ashamed of my body the more I realize that I haven’t done anything wrong.

See the idea of being ashamed of your body comes from the original Bible story. Whether you believe in it literally or not, is completely up to you. Literally or metaphorically, the story paints a picture that is revealing (no pun intended) of our feelings about our bodies and where our shame comes from.

The story, as I recall (and I’m no Bible scholar) started with Adam and Eve living happily and care-free in the Garden of Eden, unashamed of their naked bodies. They were not even aware they were naked. It was only their natural state and nothing to be ashamed of.

Then, they “sinned” against God. “Sin” meant they did something wrong. They had eaten of the fruit they were commanded not to eat of. All of a sudden, they became aware of their naked bodies and they were ashamed. So they covered up. God asked them “Who told you you were naked?”

The answer – nobody. Adam and Eve weren’t told by anyone they were naked. As soon as they felt they had done something wrong and anticipated coming under judgment, they felt ashamed and wanted to cover up.

And so it was when we were all toddlers… as we were running around naked, all delighted as a free bird could be, and all of a sudden, we were corrected and informed to put our clothes on. (And as it should be, our parents were only properly acclimating us into societal norms of  wearing clothes. It’s all good.)  It was during these moments, that we started feeling that we were doing something wrong. We were, after all, being corrected and disciplined by our parents to stop running around naked. We were becoming aware that we were doing something wrong, and we started feeling ashamed. It was our “first sin” and we actually all reacted the exact same way Adam and Eve did in the story – with shame.

Now broaden this and know that it’s not just about being ashamed of our naked bodies, but our bodies in general. Feeling ashamed of your body, naked or not, comes from the absorption of judgment. It is through the slow absorption of receiving message after message that we’ve done something wrong. From the way you look, to the things you’ve done…. if you believe you’ve done something wrong, you will naturally feel ashamed of your body. (It’s a pre-programmed response in your brain.)

And the more ashamed of your body you become, the more you will cover it up. You will hide it, you will be embarrassed of it, and most likely gain weight because of it. The absorption of judgment creates a chain of events in the heart and mind that increases the appetite. This is the emotional component of gaining weight. 

So how can you experience the removal of this judgment and re-program the brain to decrease your appetite and lose weight? Sign up now for my Online Coaching or Private Coaching. I can help you to achieve the weight loss you desire!

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